RELINQUISHED Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

relinquished

verb

past tense of relinquish

as in surrendered

to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress the boy reluctantly relinquished the illegal fireworks to the police officer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in resigned

to give up (as a position of authority) formally the retiring CEO relinquished his position to the company's vice president with very mixed feelings

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of relinquished Goss voluntarily relinquished his Missouri law license and surrendered his right to practice law in Kansas. — Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026 During her tenure, Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava relinquished their titles; Voigt had accused Rose of a toxic workplace culture. — Michael Schneider, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026 There have been small changes to the ownership structures of Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the last decade but without control ever being relinquished. — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026 While Russia has relinquished some control of the area to China following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia still plays a key role in Chinese shipping vessels’ passage through the route. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2026 Harry and Meghan relinquished their Frogmore Cottage property in 2023 at the king’s request after the 41-year-old scion published a memoir about life in the royal family. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026 Sayeri wasn’t going to get the job last year until former Nevada Las Vegas kicker and freshman All-American Caden Chittenden got injured and relinquished it with Sayeri’s strong play. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026 Rangel, who relinquished his position as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee amid the inquiry, was eventually censured, the first time a congressman had been thusly reprimanded in public in almost three decades. — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026 Nick Aldis relinquished his duties as SmackDown General Manager to challenge Gunther to a grudge match amid months of tension with Gunther that inevitably became physical. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for relinquished

Verb

Of 918 dogs documented as transferred or surrendered to Miranda’s Rescue between January 2025 and April 2026, 731 remained unaccounted for.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026
In an affidavit, a police officer reported that some residents learned to carry two wallets, one with a few dollars that could be surrendered when a gang member stuck a gun in their face, and the other with the rest of their money.

— Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of surrendered

Verb

When Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace over tax evasion, Kennerly was tapped to photograph one of his potential replacements as vice president, Gerald Ford.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
After Massey’s death, Grayson got fired, the Sangamon County sheriff at the time of the shooting resigned, and attorneys Crump and Romanucci helped Massey’s family secure a $10 million settlement from Sangamon County.

— Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of resigned

Verb

ChatGPT, however, rendered the scene using sterile, abstract terminology.

— Billy J. Stratton, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026
In a Texas hospital this week, doctors performed a complex, high-risk, open-heart surgery on a 6-day-old boy born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital condition that rendered part of his heart underdeveloped.

— Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of rendered

Verb

Akihito, who abdicated in 2019, tried to bring what was seen as an aloof monarchy closer to the people, an example followed by his son, Naruhito, and his family.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Frogmore is also the resting place of former King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in 1936 to wed divorcée Wallis Simpson.

— Lara Walsh, InStyle, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of abdicated

Verb

Though Sex and the City ended two entire decades ago, many of her most valuable life lessons—usually delivered via purring, zingy one-liners, either with a dirty martini in one hand or while waving a fork over brunch—feel just as relevant today.

— Daisy Jones, Vogue, 22 Aug. 2026
Cloverleaf, a real estate developer founded in 2024, has built a pipeline of projects across North America and delivered multiple gigawatt-scale developments.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of delivered

Verb

Yermolaiev has lived in the glitzy city state on the Mediterranean coast for several years, having left Ukraine and renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019 to become a citizen of Cyprus.

— Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Their virality comes at a time when the very generation that inspired them has largely renounced the label.

— Margaux MacColl, Vanity Fair, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of renounced

Verb

Once in office, however, Biden ceded his domestic agenda to progressives who believed in Sanders’s vision of transformational change.

— Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026
After the city ceded control of Riis to the federal government, in the nineteen-seventies, the monument to public recreation was shuttered.

— Jake Offenhartz, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of ceded

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“Relinquished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relinquished. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of relinquished

verb

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